Corn Mothers

ENGLISH:

The Indigenous peoples of southern Mexico started domesticating maize over 9,000 years ago. As cultivation of the once wild grass spread throughout the “Americas” and globally, the significance of this life-giving food was immortalized in legend and story. Among Southwest Pueblo peoples, the iconic Corn Mother deity embodied growth, life, creativity, community, and creation.

The Return of the Corn Mothers project is a book and photographic and written history exhibition of multi-generational and multi-cultural women from the Southwest who exemplify the essence of Corn Mother.

This project showcases southwestern women across cultures and generations who exemplify the essence of Corn Mother. Photographer Todd Pierson, editor Ed Winograd, graphic designer Toinette Brown, and curator Renee Fajardo, in conjunction with MSU Denver Chicana/o Studies, the Colorado Folk Arts Council, and the Chicano Humanities Arts Council, have spent fifteen years documenting the stories of women, chosen by their communities, who have made selfless contributions and creative endeavors to better the lives of others.

Return of the Corn Mothers marks a three-year effort to honor twenty-two new Corn Mothers in 2022. What began in 2007, with a small grant from the Rocky Mountain Women’s Institute and eight local women, has now expanded to include more than seventy women.